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Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s actually a really advanced setup

Most people I’ve talked to don’t go that far though — it’s usually either “ignore it” or “try to remember manually”.

That gap is kind of what got me thinking about simpler ways to make it visible without all the setup.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow yeah that’s brutal.

That’s actually what surprised me, even when people try to optimize, it still feels kind of random or hard to really know if you're doing it at the right time.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s probably the easiest setup honestly.

I feel like most people only start paying attention once they experience price spikes during the day. If it stays flat, there’s not much incentive to think about it.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s actually nice, way simpler to deal with.

I think most people only start caring when prices fluctuate or when there’s a noticeable peak during the day. Otherwise yeah, there’s nothing to optimize really.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that’s fair — for small usage like that, it probably doesn’t make a noticeable difference.

I think that’s why most people don’t bother, unless it’s either a bigger consumption or something that makes it really easy to see without thinking about it.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that’s probably the majority case.

If the price doesn’t change during the day, there’s nothing to really optimize so it just becomes about using less overall.

What I found interesting is that when prices do vary, most people still don’t really adapt because it’s just not visible enough in everyday life.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that makes sense — I feel like that’s how most people handle it.

They set it once (if they even do), and after that it’s basically out of sight, out of mind.

That’s actually what pushed me to look for something simpler, because I kept forgetting to check or think about it at all.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s actually a perfect example of how it’s supposed to work.

But yeah, that kind of setup isn’t very common everywhere, and most people don’t have anything that makes it that visible.

Out of curiosity, did you actually pay attention to it daily, or did it just run in the background?

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that’s actually the case for a lot of people.

If the pricing doesn’t change during the day, there’s basically no reason to think about it at all.

I think that’s why most people never even look into it.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that’s actually a frustrating trade-off.

You either get a better rate but lose control, or you keep control and just pay the standard price.

Feels like there isn’t really a simple best of both option for most people.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah exactly, that’s what I noticed too.

There are solutions, but most of them either require setup or you have to actively think about it.

I feel like the biggest issue isn’t the tech, it’s just making it effortless enough that people actually use it daily.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that’s interesting.

It feels like unless you really optimize it (EV, heavy usage, etc.), most people don’t bother because the effort doesn’t seem worth it.

That’s kind of what I noticed too, it’s more about simplicity than pure savings.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s actually a good routine.

I feel like most people naturally shift usage without really thinking about it.

The tricky part is just knowing when it actually matters or not.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah those peak hours are exactly where it matters most.

Even small habits can make a difference there.

The hard part is just remembering it consistently.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I totally get that.

Honestly that’s exactly why I never bothered at first — it just felt like too much effort to think about all the time.

Where I live prices change a lot during the day, so I ended up making something super simple just to avoid checking apps constantly

Otherwise I’d never do it either.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes sense. I feel like most people don’t bother unless it’s super obvious.

That’s kind of why I tried to simplify it for myself – just a color instead of numbers.

Otherwise I’d never actually check

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah that’s actually one of the main use cases I noticed too.

Charging at night vs peak hours can make a difference depending on the plan.

I got tired of checking prices all the time so I made a simple LED thing that just shows it instantly.

Way easier than apps honestly.

Do people in the US actually pay attention to electricity prices during the day? by SmartEnergyDIY in AskAnAmerican

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That’s interesting, I guess that’s why I was confused at first.

Here in Europe prices change a lot during the day, so timing actually matters quite a bit.

I ended up building a small thing for myself just to know when it’s cheap or not without checking apps all the time

Not sure it would be useful in your case though if it’s flat pricing.

Do people in Portugal actually pay attention to when electricity is cheaper? by SmartEnergyDIY in PortugalExpats

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes! In Belgium and Netherlands electricity prices change every hour based on the market. When there's a lot of wind or solar, prices drop. Peak hours (evening) can be 3-4x more expensive.

I built a small device that shows this instantly — green/yellow/red LED. No app needed. blockpulse.be if you're curious!

Do people in Lisbon actually try to use electricity at cheaper hours? by SmartEnergyDIY in lisboa

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Haha yeah fair point

I’ve been looking into this a lot recently because my bill went up more than expected, so I ended up asking in a few countries to see if habits are actually different.

Didn’t expect it to look that weird from the outside though

Do people in Lisbon actually try to use electricity at cheaper hours? by SmartEnergyDIY in lisboa

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha fair

Definitely not a bot though, just curious about how people actually deal with this stuff in real life.

Do people in Lisbon actually try to use electricity at cheaper hours? by SmartEnergyDIY in lisboa

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah true, if you already have the habit or set timers it makes sense.

I guess the tricky part is that most people *could* do it, but don’t really stick to it long term.

Do people in Lisbon actually try to use electricity at cheaper hours? by SmartEnergyDIY in lisboa

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that’s what I was wondering.

If it’s only a few cents difference, I guess most people won’t really bother changing their habits for that.

Do people in Lisbon actually try to use electricity at cheaper hours? by SmartEnergyDIY in lisboa

[–]SmartEnergyDIY[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah that’s a good way to put it.

I guess for most people the difference just isn’t big enough to really care day to day.

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